《Devourer》 Prologue: I hate diaries Ezekiel Illyaeide Hawke, 53rd Day of Autumn, 1015 I wish I could kill them. Better yet, slap them so hard that their teeth fall out and then kill them. ---------------------- Ezekiel Illyaeide Hawke, 17th Day of Spring, 1014 Dear diary, I¡¯d like to celebrate my first diary entry by, well it¡¯s not like you, Sir Diary, would want to know what happened today. It¡¯s every bit as tiresome as all the other days. These peacock like fools strutting around thinking themselves to be smarter than the one they argue with. Some fools in the background thinking of outmaneuvering and plotting the simpletons, though the birdbrains make their greed so obvious they wonder why they haven¡¯t been promoted and still remain as background characters. Then the truly fearsome old fogeys, though, it¡¯s their own people and the people of our kingdom who should be more afraid than any others. Exploiting and blatant rule breaking, well I won¡¯t get started. At least, they do keep each other suppressed. And then there is the King, look at his face, that conniving two-faced clod, smiling benevolently, a true ¡®saint¡¯ who plays the nobles keeping the state of the court exactly as it is. After all, if the nobles grew in power, well, he won¡¯t be king any longer would he? Anyways, I really don¡¯t wish to ramble, but I seriously don¡¯t want to and don¡¯t know what to write here. I mean, they won¡¯t be reading it, what¡¯s with this reflection bullshit? Admittedly, I¡¯m thankful no one else would read this; after all if the King doesn¡¯t execute me for treason, the nobles would do it just because they think they can. After all, I doubt saying, ¡°but I capitalised the K,¡± would let me off. Ezekiel Illyaeide Hawke, 18th Day of Spring, 1014 I seriously don¡¯t want to do this anymore. Also, I found a crack in one of the storage rooms, and glimpsed at a sight of heavenly legs, till the maids clothed her. Shame I couldn¡¯t see their faces or her butt or anything past about 5 inches above the knees, I really wanted to to whom these legs belonged to and why I can¡¯t remember a pair so divine in all my time at court. Luckily, I have memorised the birthmark on her calf. Ezekiel Illyaeide Hawke, 20th Day of Spring, 1014 Okay here goes. So today I asked around about what other people wrote in their diaries, and some pompous prick who thinks he is all that just cause he knows a spell or two and bought his way up for the rest, whom I most definitely did not ask, replied that he wrote the origin of his name. The narcissistic dunce needed to write that? Even I could¡¯ve done it for him, bitch and cuckold. After some deliberating, perhaps I could disassemble my name. Perfect way to fill in some lines worth of drivel. Least, my drivel is better than theirs. Wait, did I just compare drivel? Anyways, Ezekiel or Zeke as my mother calls me is what I was named after some knight about 400 years ago did something stupid and somehow came out okay. Even became famous for it and married the princess. The fool never realised his title of princess consort was the King¡¯s idea of keeping him on a leash without giving him the slightest modicum of power. Why was I named after this poser? Never could figure that one out. Illyaeide is from my mother¡¯s side, and being an elf, their middle name is actually their family name. An elf¡¯s last name on the other hand is their profession. So Nyssa Illyaeide Alkiem was my mother¡¯s name before marriage. Alkiem would refer to what we would call in the common tongue, alchemy. Of course, after her marriage, she had to add Hawke at the very end, to signify her noble house. As for Hawke? Well long ago, before our family was promoted to a noble family we were bird messengers. Confused? Well, in a ¡®critical situation¡¯ which is idiotic noble commander speak for ¡®I did something cause I wanted to impress people, and now I¡¯ve fucked up¡¯ during a war, our messenger falcon got a message across to a waiting army to begin its pincer movement, otherwise one of the arms would¡¯ve been overwhelmed and we very possibly could¡¯ve been ruled by another. As for why Hawke and not Falcon or Hawk. Well the House of Blineth¡¯s symbol was a falcon, after their famed Commander Falcone. Since having ¡®falcon¡¯ would ¡®impede the honour¡¯ (I don¡¯t get it either) of their house, we went with Hawk, its close enough. And not to be outdone, we too appended an ¡®e¡¯. Ezekiel Illyaeide Hawke, 3rd Day of Summer, 1014 Perhaps after all these entries, I should mention why the hell we were suggested to write. Truth be told, our alliance isn¡¯t doing too well in the war. The enemies outnumber and overpower, but they seem to just be waiting for something, hopefully whatever they''re waiting for doesn''t arrive. Thus the king and a few ministers including myself the ¡®junior¡¯ court wizard went to visit the speaker of nonsense yet irrefutable crap, otherwise known as an oracle. I admit, her looks were surprising. For someone so closely connected to the divine, they sure have left her old and decrepit. Her yellowed skin wrinklier than when I fall asleep in the bath, shambling along with the aid of a gnarled crutch. It feels like she¡¯d move on to the next world before she¡¯d move close enough for us to strain to try and hear her raspy voice. According to her, the ¡®divines¡¯ suggested we mess with some unknown spatial magic and summon some so called heroes. But she warned us, opening her eyes wide enough I was scared they would fall out. She warned us we must have a strong control of our emotions. We must be as a blank slate, letting go of our desires and dreams in order for the summoning to work properly. To date, I am clueless why being a blank slate would increase effectivity. After all, there has been many links showing anger could increase the effectiveness of fire magic and calmness of water. It was at this point, writing a diary was suggested amongst breathing exercises and meditation as a tool to reflect and enter a state of balance. Then the King goes ahead and suggests we should do all of it¡­ daily. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.Ezekiel Illyaeide Hawke, 68th Day of Summer, 1014 The day of equinox is approaching, which should happen around the 45th day of the 90 days of autumn. This date is when the spatial spell for summoning some heroes is scheduled. I wonder what it would feel like going to a different world. The sights I¡¯d see, the people I would meet. Admittedly, as I was caught up in imagining a harem scene of the women I would undoubtedly conquer, I had odd feelings of melancholy. If I was shunted to that world would I be able to see my parents again? I was reminded of a trip I went to, a nine month sordid affair. What was done there would never be known. It was there that I, a young boy saw the greed and depravity of the nobles and the plight of the indigenous tribes. Under the guise of civilising them, and providing them the benefits of our society, the nobles stole and enslaved. Skirmishes over pepper plants, the indigenous men on both sides forced to fight and kill their own people, whilst watching their resources be taken just so they and their families can continue living their miserable lives. My father sat me down and asked me, whose side I wanted to be on. Predator or prey? It was then I too carried a mask with me. Many masks. A few for court, for family, for balls and social events. Only my parents ever saw my true face, and after a while, perhaps not even them, not even me. I am a predator. Ezekiel Illyaeide Hawke, 40th Day of Autumn, 1015 5 days till hero summoning. I''m still a ¡®junior¡¯ court wizard. My position as equally regal as my namesakes. Kept on a leash by the current King due to my outstanding healing capabilities. All the commoners think I¡¯m close to the King, stationed as a direct aid and given a court title created just for me. Only I know the real truth. If only I was capable of offensive magics rather than only light magic I would be a court wizard, not ¡®junior¡¯. Best I came up with was a way to blind others and run away if any altercations occur. I also wasn¡¯t given the position of court healer, nope, simply hand-tied and left as an insurance. An absolute shame since I planned on impressing some heroes, or more preferably, heroines. I¡¯d rope them in with magic class, and one thing will lead to another. Ezekiel Illyaeide Hawke, 43rd Day of Autumn, 1015 3 days till hero summoning. I admit I am excited. I¡¯ve even prepared a speech to say. On a side note, all the preparations have been made, the runic circles chiseled, the gems laid, formations formed, alchemic ichor prepared and the spell form and words memorised by the five of us performing said ceremony. Sad to say, I¡¯m only included as an extra, using my light magic to stabilise the spell, to guide the ones being summoned and to heal if necessary. Still, I won¡¯t let this put a damper on my mood. Ezekiel Illyaeide Hawke, 45th Day of Autumn, 1015 Today is the day. Us five involved in the ceremony, the King, the Queen and their guards and some servants make our way to the oracle¡¯s temple. The temple is located about 420 metres up on a five hundred metre mountain. Parts of the temple hang out where life-like statues of various aspects of deities are chiselled. This is referring to the myriad forms of the deities, for example the deity of fire and its appearances, orange flames, blue flames, divine flames and a few others melded together form an aspect. Of course, no one knows its true appearance, but these flames are some of the constituent parts of the deity, or so it¡¯s believed. The journey up was uneventful, and we are joined by some initiates of the temple. Luckily the oracle had begun her journey to the peak of the mountain before we arrived; otherwise we¡¯d miss the equinox. Why doesn¡¯t she just retire, pass the mantle on, I¡¯m sure the deities would give us better news were they presented with a young beauty who was asking the questions. The top of the mountain, which usually would have nothing but howling winds to keep you company, was instead filled with various runic circles encompassed by defensive formations. Many high-quality gems provided the necessary power with good purity, looking at them, I can¡¯t help but to feel an odd twitching in my heart. Imagine if I had all these to train and make equipment with, I would surely be able to cast offensive magic. Heck, even an ordinary dandy could become extraordinary. Such splurging of wealth, I had high expectations and hopes for these heroes. We made our way to the tent, inside which we saw some initiates and a sleeping wrinkly leather bag - I mean the oracle. The best time for summoning would be when the sun was at its highest, such that we could use the energy provided to help power up our circles making it easier on the other four. Also, my light magic would be more effective during daytime, especially midday, so I had no complaints. As midday approaches, the four began their preparations by beginning to fill in the runic circle and the defensive formation using their mana while I used my light magic in order to help channel and stabilise their mana, keeping it uniform and steady. As more and more mana filled the channels, a low hum of spatial magic filled the air. Space in the centre of the runic circle, the summoning destination began rippling as we attempted to tear space. I thought back to the promises of the oracle. Heroes blessed by the divines themselves during their trip, some even granted special powers to aid us in our war. These blessing would help increase their affinity with certain elements, their mana pool and who knows what else. A part of me wishes it was me being summoned, granted gifts, being looked upon as the hope, the light in these dark times. Of course, the adult part of me crushed that na?ve thought, someone like me would never compare to the absolute glory of these otherworldly heroes. Two and a half metre tall heavyset giants, dual wielding great axes or swords twice a man¡¯s weight. Bathed in blood and cloaked in fire, just a glance could kill the weak-hearted. Perhaps I shouldn¡¯t have listened to the idle talks of a few drunken nobles. Just the excitement and anxiety made my knees tremble. Chapter 1: A wayward day - Clause - The teacher continually tried to engage his students by changing the pitch of his voice and emphasising certain concepts. Clause thought it was comedic and yet a waste of time. Many of the concepts which teacher, Mr Kirchen, tried to guide his class through were rather dull. Some of his classmates including him had already comprehended them. That wasn¡¯t to say Clause or the others were geniuses, rather they simply ¡®understood¡¯. Take a maths formula for instance, some would understand from the first example shown, while others would require many examples using the same formula to solve them before they are able to use it themselves. Clause found it odd that Mr Kirchen, rather than switching examples, simply changed his pitch. Like there was some static in his transmission earlier, and that some modulation would allow it to sink in. Unfortunately, Clause simply was not the type of person who would point out the need for different kinds of examples. If he was asked why, he wouldn¡¯t know how to answer, he would simply shrug. He was someone who usually scored about 75-85% in his tests. Most would say it is slightly above average, sadly, Clause felt like it was a joke. His school was not very highly rated, and he wouldn¡¯t compare at all to the schools more catered towards the smarter crop. His physical fitness was rather average as well, due to compulsory PE classes, but he wouldn¡¯t be called strong nor fit. He didn¡¯t really have very many friends either. Most people would form groups depending on their interests; closer friends would share their secrets with each other. Clause always wondered what kind of secrets other people would have, he didn¡¯t really have any, sadly, he never realised that there was much more to relationships and forming close friends than simply calling each other that. Clause was broken out of his reverie when the world became monochrome. It was an odd feeling, not only had time felt like it had slowed but each of his movements caused rippling in the air, as if he was currently underwater. Looking around, he noticed his classmate¡¯s expressions of surprise and fear. Strangely enough, Clause felt his lips twitching into a smile, as he watched them waving their arms around. Paul, who was sitting next to him seemed like he was trying to say something, his mouth moved and yet he couldn¡¯t hear a sound. Due to the extreme slowness, Clause found it rather difficult to read Paul¡¯s lips. Before he could think further, his world had turned white. It was like a light shining in his eyes, but he felt no pain or discomfort. Even when he closed his eyes, the whiteness was still there. Like staring at a very bright sheet of paper; but no details were visible. He didn¡¯t know how long he felt like he was stuck, but all of a sudden, his stomach lurched as if the floor ceased to exist and he was relentlessly pulled by gravity. Strangely, he did not feel the wind rushing past, nor did his whitewashed vision change. After ¡®falling¡¯ for an unknown period of time, he felt like he was pulled along. White spots danced in his eyes as his vision returned. He saw all his classmates being pulled along with him at great speeds, but they simply could not move their bodies, so turning their heads to glance at each other or communicating was not possible. Using the limited movements he could still do with his eyeballs, he noticed he was in what seemed like outer space, travelling through a grey tunnel, who¡¯s texture was similar to smoke, but even the ¡®gaps¡¯ between the smoky haze gave him the vague notion of being incredibly sturdy not to mention the ¡®smoke¡¯ itself. He saw innumerous stars twinkling in the background as he sped past. Naturally, Clause was feeling quite scared and confused, he kept on wondering if what he had experienced today, from waking up, getting ready, class and this phenomenon was simply a dream and as he reached the end of this ¡®tunnel¡¯ he¡¯d simply wake up in his bed. After some time, anxiety turned to curiosity, and he began to experiment with the extent of his control over his body. He found he could do some movements, but it was like being in very thick fluid. Turning his head, albeit extremely slowly, caused rather severe muscle pain in his neck, as if his head was incredibly heavy and he was dragging it along. This realisation made him attempt to straighten up and relax his entire body. After what felt like ten minutes, he saw a giant planet, its diameter many times greater than Earth towards which they were approaching. It deceptively felt like they were travelling rather slowly, however, one can only imagine the speeds if a planet many times larger than Earth seems to be noticeably coming closer. He saw, like Earth, deep blue oceans surrounding large masses of land. The weather being many times more violent was apparent as he saw incredibly massive cloud formations resembling humongous typhoons in more than one location. Violent swathes of thunderstorms adorned the north, with flashes of lightning visible from all this distance away. This scenery eventually became a blur as they closed in on a particular land mass. --------------------------- - Ezekiel - The rippling continued as I watched, trying very hard not to blink, to miss even the minutest of details. Slowly, like a tornado forming from the ground rather than the sky, a grey mass of clouds extended upwards, one second it was incredibly sluggish, rising as slow as a turtle and the next it shot upwards like lightning. I thought this was quite odd, after all, I had seen spatial transfers before, and if tunnels like these extended every time, then there¡¯s no way people would be able to move around stealthily. Perhaps the grey tunnel appears and disappears almost instantaneously? If that is so, then there must be an incredibly vast distance separating our worlds. After a few minutes, the tunnel began to pulse, and form clumps as the connection began to sever. Once again, I channelled light magic to stabilise the gateway and to protect the heroes within from spatial aftereffects. The major ones included death or missing limbs from being caught in spatial tears, I felt sweat on my forehead. If such a thing were to occur my role would change from redundant to responsible. ------------- - Clause - I found myself on solid ground, the exact process lost as I fought waves of nausea and dizziness. Sadly my willpower couldn¡¯t overcome my light-headedness and I lost consciousness. ------------- Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.- Ezekiel - I watched about twenty to twenty-five people walk around like they were in a drunken stupor before comically collapsing in awkward ways. I knew the King and the oracle had welcoming speeches prepared, in the corner of my eye I could see them frozen in their grandiose poses in an attempt to impress. It took all I had to control my facial muscles. Taking a few deep breathes to calm myself before urgently hurrying to the heroes making sure nothing untoward had happened to them. As an experienced healer, I quickly realised they merely fainted, a symptom that happens quite often to new users of spatial magic; the sudden movement causing disorientation and sometimes fainting. ¡°Do not worry your Highness, Lady Oracle, they have simply fainted. Perhaps we should move them inside the tent?¡± Even if I told them not to worry, I was rather confused. I was quite experienced with the bodies of many kinds of sentient creatures, from books as well as from personally healing them. Contrary to mine or everyone else¡¯s beliefs these heroes seemed, to put it bluntly ¡­ weak. Perhaps rather than their physical body, their magic has been improved. Powerful ranged magic is the bane of many armies, since, if they can be killed a large number every attack, before they can even come near, then what is there to fear? Convincing myself that this must be the reason for their weak physiques, I walked alongside the initiates who were busy carrying the summoned to the tent. It turns out there were twenty-two younger folk and a middle aged man. Since the tent was prepared for the oracle and the King, it was much more spacious than it needed to be and easily accommodated the extra arrivals. Looking around, I noticed the careful scrutiny of the other worlders by all whom were present, some looking confused but accepting, arriving at a similar conclusion to mine while others were in disbelief. The King had drawn the oracle to the side and was talking to her in hushed tones, but he definitely did not seem happy. After about ten minutes, the other worlders began to wake up. They looked around, confused but that much was predicted. ¡°Hello, now I¡¯m sure you are all confused, my name is Ezekiel, and we¡¯ve summoned you to our world. I¡¯m sure you have a lot of questions, but we¡¯d first like to bring to down this mountain, really not the place to talk. If you would like to follow us down, and enjoy the view as we go.¡± Politics is annoying, even the King had to appease various factions by limiting personal contact with these other worlders. After all, once they were roped in, it would completely change the power and threat level of the house they represented. Of course, that is mostly what you ¡®say¡¯. Turning around I saw the King speaking with some of the men with larger builds, and the oracle speaking with the shyer women, building relations and providing comfort during the times when they¡¯re confused and anxious does tend to make lasting impressions. Of course, if I was asked I would calmly answer that they weren¡¯t talking politics, rather, the King and the oracle as well as some of the powerful nobles from the older families, who were on the receiving end of many dark looks from the King, were being tour guides and friends in dark times. ------------- - Clause - I was once again ignored, although I wasn¡¯t the only one. One of the cons of my laid back lifestyle is that you tend to be part of the background until you¡¯re either needed or you¡¯re the only one left. Of course, that doesn¡¯t mean I get played like a flute or that I want to change, since observing quietly allows me to have a greater understanding than I otherwise would have. Some seemingly important folk were talking with some of my classmates, and there were a large amount of discrepancies between the information given. Of course they wouldn¡¯t realise, such is the benefit of multiple information sources. It was mostly just extending their web of contacts s though, like where they should buy and sell their things, who they should go to for help and the like. I should¡¯ve kept on listening but the surroundings were just to amazing. When I heard we were going down the mountain, I thought we would climb down around it. Instead, we went through. Some sort of lift system which I thought was ingenious considering it seemed like medieval times, until I realised they haven¡¯t figured out how to go up yet. Maybe if I made something out of pulleys? Well it sounds good in my head, but last time I tried to use pulleys in woodwork class, I ended up with a tangled mess. Guess I should just let the idea float and let someone else experiment? The way down was fairly quiet as we all looked around at beautiful natural rock formations interposed between man-made carvings, comparable to the renaissance frescoes found in churches. ------------- - Ezekiel - I watched them as they looked around with mouths gaping open. While they did look silly, I understood their amazement, the first time I saw this sight I was equally as amazed. The carvings of the deities were imposing yet elegant. A true masterpiece of art blended wonderfully with the natural grace of rock structures. After our descent, we walked towards one of the larger halls, which had food and drinks, as well as many influential members of the kingdom. Some older folk came out of hiding just to witness these heroes, I¡¯m afraid they¡¯ll be sorely disappointed. I had stealthily ¡®healed¡¯ some of their veins, just to check how much magical power is in their bloodstream, they appear to be rather average. Furthermore, at first I had thought they were calm and unfazed, but to my growing dismay they were simply too scared to complain. And the lack of bloodthirst as well as some conversations with the nobles helped to quell most of the remaining tension so that, rather than heroes, they looked like lost sheep, hoping someone will come and tell them they¡¯ve been pranked. Still, I carried a faint hope that they¡¯ll give us a surprise. After all, what have I got to lose? Author note: Sorry I''ve been busy with work and uni, and also went out during queens birthday long weekend, but I''ll try and release more to make up. Cheers Also, I know some of you want to see some action soon, and you will get it next chap, promise :D, just wanted to get the background set about why it happens.